Catching Teardrops
by CC Novak
Summary: In the pain, there is healing. In your name, I find meaning. Co-written with EspoirDio
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is probably set in the fourth season, near the end when CC had her long-ish blonde hair. This was co-written with EspoirDio, you can tell because some of the CC spellings have the two dots in them...anyway, on with the show m'dears!**

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**Chapter One**

_This was not a good idea._ CC Babcock thought as she walked down one of the many sidewalks in New York City. She hadn't been able to catch a cab and Niles had told her flat out that he was not driving her home, she was obviously forced to walk. She put a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear and clutched her coat. She hated going through this particular neighborhood She wished she had just stayed there, being out in the city during the day was bad, but being out at night was just fruitless.

She clutched her purse closer to her as she walked past a homeless man that was sleeping against a trashcan and she began to look around. Something just didn't feel right. She stopped dead in her tracks and was just about to turn and run, when someone grabbed her from out of the alley and shoved her against the wall. He had his hand covering her mouth and she was trying her hardest to get free, but it was no use, this man, whoever he was, had a tight grip on her and he refused to let her go.

"Aren't you a pretty one?" He said as he ran his fingers through her hair. She mumbled against his hand and kept struggling. "Stop it!" He shouted as he slammed her harder against the wall. The impact almost caused her to faint, but he shook her a little when he noticed her head was sagging. "Now you listen to me girlie, you're going to do exactly as I tell you and maybe I won't hurt you. Do you understand?" He asked. She nodded and he did the same. "Good, I'm glad we understand one another." He threw her to the ground and again, the impact almost caused her to faint, but before she got her bearings, he flipped her over on her back and was straddling her. He then began kissing her and when he pulled away to catch his breath, she spit in his face and in return, he slapped her. "What did I tell you!" He shouted and tears began to form in her eyes.

"Hel-" She started, but his hand covered her mouth again before she could finish.

With his free hand, he ripped open her blouse and tore her bra off. Her bare chest was now exposed to him and he was looking hungrily at her.

"Well, look at what we got here. Girlie's got some nice ones." He released her mouth and then began kissing her chest. When he felt her struggling, he bit down hard on her left breast and she let out a high pitched scream, something she was famous for. He punched her so hard that it knocked her unconscious, but the last thing she remembered before blacking out completely was the feel of his hands pushing up her skirt...

"Oh my God! Look at her! She looks so helpless!" Fran exclaimed as she wiped tears away from her eyes with a handkerchief.

CC's eyes fluttered open slowly, her sight was a bit blurry, but she could make out two people were standing on either side of her, looking down at her. One was a woman with humongous brown, curly hair, the other was a man with dark hair and that was all she could make of them. She blinked a few times before she could totally see them.

"Wh-who are you?" She asked as she looked at them both.

"Miss Babcock! It's me! Nanny Fine!" The female screeched and CC immediately clutched her head in pain. "Oh my goodness, do you have a headache?" She asked as she touched her hand.

"Yeah, from you talking." She replied honestly and Maxwell secretly grinned. "And you are?" She asked looking at him.

"I'm Maxwell Sheffield, you're my business partner." He said and she nodded.

"Business partner of what?" She asked as she sat up slowly, but a sharp pain ran through her back and she flopped back down on the bed.

"You and I produce plays together, do you remember anything, C.C?" He asked.

"I remember my name is Chastity Claire Babcock, and I'm thirty-five years old and that I was...I was..." Tears brimmed in her bright blue eyes as she realized what had happened to her. She placed her hand across her eyes and began to sob. She jumped when she felt someone touch her hand gently and when she moved it away, she saw another man, one she hadn't noticed before. "Who are you?" She asked.

"I'm Niles, Miss Babcock. Do you remember me? The butler for Mr. Sheffield?" He asked and she furrowed her eyebrows together.

"You call me Chicken and Brunette sometimes, don't you?" She asked and Niles' eyes widened as Maxwell put his hands on his hips and gave him a stern look.

"She must be delusional still, Sir." He lied, looking at him.

"Uh-huh. Sure old man." He replied and Niles shrugged.

"Yeah! You call me Chicken and Brunette and a bunch of other things! You pick on me nonstop!" She said as she folded her arms across her chest.

"To be fair, you're not exactly the sweetest person alive." He shot back.

"Well excuse me! But,"

"Alright you two! Enough! Niles, I think you should leave. You're going to make Miss Babcock upset." He said.

"No, let him stay." CC said as she touched Niles' jacket, who had turned to walk away. "He's actually not bothering me, it's her that is." She said pointing her thumb at Fran, whose mouth had dropped open.

"I haven't said a word for the past few minutes! How is that possible?" She asked.

"Just your presence. It annoys me." She said and Fran shook her head.

"You try to be nice to someone and this is what you get."

"Miss Fine, don't take it personally, C.C.'s been through quite an ordeal. I mean, wouldn't you be a tad irritable after being unconscious for three days?" Maxwell inquired.

"How long?" C.C. asked.

"Three days Miss Babcock, I was even beginning to get worried about you." Niles said.

"I meant to ask Miss Babcock, how are ya feeling?" Fran asked. C.C. felt a wave of nausea overcome her and she covered her mouth. She swallowed hard but it didn't help much. She threw the covers back and ran into the bathroom where she let out heaves and threw up bile, which was rather painful.

"Are you ok, C.C?" Maxwell asked as the three of them stood outside of the small bathroom. C.C.'s reply was more heaving and gagging, she let out a few more coughs before standing to her feet and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"I'll be fine, when can I go home?" She asked as she clutched her stomach.

"Soon I think, let me call Doctor Russel, he'll give us an idea." He said and she nodded slowly.

"Niles, will you help me to the bed please?" She asked.

"Of course Miss Babcock." He wrapped his arm around her waist and she shivered a little from his touch. "You sure you're alright?" He asked.

"I am, it's just that my side hurts, must be from where that bastard slammed me against the wall." She shook her head and looked at the floor angrily as he helped her the rest of the way to the bed. He helped her lay down and covered her back up where she'd be warm enough and she gave him a small smile to show her thanks.

It turned out Maxwell had been only half right, CC was let out of the hospital soon, but it wasn't as soon as she would have liked. It was two more days before the doctor had cleared her and said she could go home. He had done a few more tests on her that she couldn't figure out why he would, but she just did as she was told and when she was released, she was shocked to discover that Maxwell had invited her to stay with them for a few days, he was worried about her, but not as much as some other people were.

"Miss Babcock, are you comfortable?" Niles asked when he walked into the guest room where she was staying.

"Yes, very much so, thanks." CC said. He placed his hands behind his back and bowed his head to her before he turned to go back out. "Wait! You don't have to leave so soon! I want some company! This house is absolutely dreary at this time of night." She said.

"It's ten-thirty." He said as he checked his watch.

"Then why are you still up?" She asked as she patted the bed for him to come sit down beside her.

"Mr. Sheffield told me to watch out for you, it sounds strange coming from my mouth, but I actually am worried about you too." He admitted as he sat down beside her.

"Oh I know that. I'm surprised though that you haven't been up to your normal tricks and schemes." She said raising an eyebrow.

"Oh believe me, Babs, don't get used to this. I have a plan for when you get better." He smirked and she laughed a little.

"Babs? When did you start calling me that?" She asked criss-crossing her legs like a small child would do.

"I've called you that for years, I think though was when I first met you. CC just sounded so ridiculous that I had to call you something else. So "Babs" it was, but I often just call you Miss Babcock to show "respect." He did the air quotation marks to prove his point.

"Ah-h-h. I see, well "Babs" is kind of cool, I mean, who else calls me that other than you?" She asked.

"I believe Miss Fine does every once in a while, but she doesn't say it when you're around." He replied.

"She's the nanny, right? Who sounds like she is coming down with the world's worst cold?" It was his turn to laugh.

"She does, but Miss Babcock, she is worried about you as well. You've been throwing up more so than any normal human being, I think you should call the doctor and see what's taking so long with the tests." He suggested.

"Can I confess something to you Niles?" He nodded. "The doctor did two tests on me, the second one I don't know what it was, I was asleep during it, but he did the HIV/AIDS test and I am absolutely terrified."

"Oh." It was all he could say.

"I know, but I hope I don't have it. I've heard about what happens to people with it. They're treated like if they touched somebody, the person they touch will get it, so most of them are in hospitals, just waiting to die and I don't want that to happen to me." Tears began to roll down her cheeks and Niles reached out and hugged her close to him. He stroked her hair slowly and let her sob into his chest. He had noticed she'd also been going through mood swings recently, but this one was sincere.

"It's alright, Babs. I promise you don't have that." He said.

"How do you know? I was raped! By some lunatic off the street!" She cried.

"I just know. I have a way with things like this." He said.

"I sure hope you're right." She sighed and he kissed her hair, something he'd never done before.

"I'm hardly ever wrong, just ask Mr. Sheffield and Miss Fine." He added and he then noticed that she had drifted off to sleep, he couldn't really blame her. She'd been through a lot and no telling how much sleep she got. He had heard her having a nightmare earlier that day, it was the strangest thing. She was screaming and crying for help and when he'd rushed in there, she began to writhe and kick at him, but he just grabbed her arms and shook her awake. She had looked up at him with her big blue eyes and turned away from him, like she was ashamed. She hadn't said anything to him or anyone for that matter until this point. "Just go to sleep Miss Babcock, it'll all be alright in the morning."

The phone ringing made CC's eyes shoot open. She looked and saw that she was alone now, Niles must have left sometime during the night. She sat up and stretched her arms above her head and yawned. After the third ring, she could hear Niles' voice answering.

"Miss Babcock! It's for you!" Niles shouted and CC furrowed her eyebrows. A call for her? She hadn't informed anyone that she knew of where she was, but she guessed she'd better see who it was.

She went to the closet and grabbed her robe that Maxwell had brought over from her apartment and she slipped it on. She padded down the hall in her bare feet and when she reached Niles, he was holding the phone out for her.

"Hello?" She said into the phone.

"Miss Babcock, it's Doctor Russel, how are you feeling today?" He asked cheerfully.

"A little better, I'm still not feeling too well." She replied.

"Miss Babcock, I must ask you a question before I tell you the results of your tests." He said and she clutched the phone with both of her hands, preparing for the worst.

"Go on sir." She said.

"Did you have a boyfriend before your incident? Or any type of sexual activity beforehand?" He asked.

"N-no sir." She was shaking and Niles had his hands on her shoulders, trying to figure out what was wrong. "Do I have AIDS?"

"Oh no, no. You came back a negative on that, but the other test I took turned out positive." He said.

"What other test did you perform, Doctor?" She asked.

"Miss Babcock, as a result of your incident, it seems you're pregnant."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

"Miss Babcock, are you alright?" Niles asked upon hearing the blonde's sharp intake of breath.

When she failed to respond, however, and the telephone began to shake dangerously in her hand, he hurried to her side and protectively wrapped an arm around her.

"Thank you for informing me, Dr. Russel." C.C. managed before hanging up.

"What happened?" Niles asked worriedly, soothingly rubbing her back.

"I'm pregnant, that bastard got me pregnant." She whispered and her knees buckled.

"Let's get you back to bed," Niles said calmly, holding her upright while guiding her up the stairs.

Neither of them said another word until they had reached the guestroom C.C. was staying in and Niles had helped her into bed.

"I think you'd better go now." She said when he was still busy drawing up the blanket and ensuring that she was comfortable. Her voice sounded distant and her eyes were cool.

"Alright," he finally agreed "but call me if you need anything."

He didn't get a response, however, and C.C. didn't even seem to have heard him and so he quietly exited the room. She couldn't just lay here, she needed to move or something. She slipped out from under the covers slowly, keeping them the way Niles had left them, and eyed the bathroom that was connected to the guest room. A shower seemed fantastic right about now.

She stripped from her robe and pajamas and got into the shower, letting the warm water slide down her body. She had her wrist resting on the wall and her forehead was leaning against it. She couldn't believe it, she was actually pregnant, by some low life street trash. She took a deep breath and held it for a minute, trying to regain herself. She didn't know what emotion she was supposed to feel. She was feeling so many at one time, she could barely keep up. She was feeling rage for the man who'd done this to her, she felt sadness because this meant that no man would probably ever want her, and she felt anger at herself for walking when she could have just waited for a cab. Though through all that, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of happiness. She was going to have a baby, something she'd always wanted since she had been a little girl.

She picked up the soap and began to clean herself. She rubbed the bar over her flat belly gently, trying to imagine what it was going to be like in four months time. She would no longer be the small size she was, but she'd have a baby bump that would show to everyone what had happened to her, it was both bad and good, she just couldn't decide which one to choose at the moment.

Though of course, there was always that other option, the most dreaded one that was like murder to her, abortion. The very thought of the word made her sick. She knew that if she went through with one, she would more than likely never be able to have children, seeing as she was already in her thirties and the horror stories she had heard from what happened to women after they had one of those horrid things...she just couldn't imagine herself doing that, no matter how mean and hateful she could be. No, she was keeping the baby, no matter what.

She sighed as she tried to imagine what the baby was going to look like. She closed her eyes for a moment and tried to remember the man's face. She tried to remember his hair color, his skin tone, anything, but all she could remember were his eyes. They had been a shade of green she hadn't seen before, smoky green. The more she thought about the man, the angrier she got. Her eyes snapped open and she switched the shower off angrily and she hopped out of the shower. She grabbed a towel from the rack and wrapped it around herself. She brushed her hair out quickly and slammed the brush down on the counter. How could this have happened to her? Better yet, how was she going to explain it to her family?

That thought hadn't even occurred to her until now. Society wouldn't think anything of it, but she knew her father would, and she dreaded what her mother would think, even though it was not her fault. When she walked back into the bedroom, she saw her suitcase sitting in the corner. She unzipped it and tried to find clothes. She found some of her typical black attire and put them on before she lay back down on the bed again. She placed her hands behind her head and took in a deep breath, it was still hard to process that she was going to be a mother. She hadn't been able to keep any of her pets alive, except her horse, when she was younger, how the hell was she going to keep a person? And by herself? No man was going to want a woman who was unclean, common street filth had impregnated her, what ridicule she would receive!

The light knocking at the door made her jump. "Who is it?" She asked.

"It's Niles, I was just wondering if you wanted to come and eat lunch." She looked over at the digital clock and saw that it was indeed past noon. She raised her eyebrows and then let them fall again. She got out of the bed and walked over to the door, opening it quietly.

"I'd like to, but I don't know how long I could hold it down." She confessed.

"You need to eat something, you've barely eaten anything since you've been here, and that baby will need food Miss Babcock." He pointed out, he was absolutely right.

"Alright Niles, but only because you forced me to." She said as she left her room and walked ahead of him.

"Oh yes, so forceful I am." He rolled his eyes and smiled to himself.

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As he followed her down the stairs and into the dining room where he had set up dinner, he couldn't help but admire her strength. Apart from the bruises on her body it was difficult to detect anything of the horror she had experienced. Instead she carried herself with the same confidence and strength as ever. But Niles wasn't a fool, he knew that her façade would crumble eventually, overpowered by the sheer intensity of the past events. He just hoped that when it did happen, she would allow someone to be there for her, allow him to be there for her.

"I can feel your eyes on me, Dust Buster, and it's making me nervous." C.C. growled and he chuckled.

Instantly several good comebacks shot through his head but they all died on his tongue before any of them could be uttered out loud. He couldn't throw a zinger at her now, not in the condition she was in, it simply didn't feel right. As if having read his thoughts, C.C. abruptly stopped on the stairs and turned around to look at him.

"Nothing? You have nothing to say to that?" she questioned, arching an eyebrow.

"Miss Babcock, given the…situation…I didn't think it appropriate to-" he tried formally but she was glaring at him angrily.

She had reached him with two strides and roughly grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket.

" "My situation".", she mocked, her face so close to his that he could see the angry fire blazing within her eyes "don't just beat about the bush. Why don't you just say it? You never hold back when it comes to me, so why start now? Why don't you just say out loud that I got fucked my some scum on the street and now I have to care for his child!"

"C.C.," his voice was gentle and her eyes widened ever so slightly upon hearing him use her first name.

Slowly, carefully his arms snaked around her body until they were firmly holding her and preventing her legs from buckling under her again. She was speechless for a moment because never before had she seen such deep sorrow in his eyes, not even the night Sara had died.

"I don't want your pity, Niles," she tried to snap at him, but the quivering of her lip and the tears that were pooling in her eyes gave her away "I want you to be honest with me, fight me… just don't change anymore…"

As her voice drifted off he finally realized what she was really trying to say. That he was the only stable thing in her life and with everything else that had happened she needed someone to rely on. And apparently, which had come as a shock to her as well, she had chosen him.

"Alright," he simply said, but it was a promise.

She didn't loosen her hold on him for another couple of minutes, but instead tried to calm her ragged breathing. Finally and with great effort she let go and turned around.

"Let's have something to eat then."


End file.
